It has become popular to utilize modular wall panels to form walls and space enclosures of desired size and arrangement in offices, work areas, schools and the like. Such panels may be formed of sound absorbing material and covered with a variety of decorative surfaces. Furthermore, as space needs change, the formed walls may be dismantled and the wall panels rearranged to form new walls and wall arrangements better suited to the changed space needs.
These modular walls, however, have heretofore suffered various deficiencies. In particular, such walls formed of interconnecting wall panels have typically not been very sturdy and indeed have exhibited but a fraction of the stability and rigidity of conventional permanent interior building walls. Much of this lack of rigidity has been caused by the absence of truly stable interconnections between the modular panels. And the requirement that the panel interconnections be able to be readily undone and the panels disconnected has contributed to this lack of rigidity. Furthermore, this absence of stability at the areas of panel interconnection has been particularly undesirable since it has been desirable to suspend work surfaces, shelves and the like from supports at these interconnection junctures.
There have been attempts made to improve the means of interconnection such as including separate connection posts between the panels but none of these have yielded truly satisfactory results. Most of these attempts have instead involved the use of unduly complicated and expensive apparatus which have interfered with the goal of having a wall system capable of being readily and easily assembled, disassembled and rearranged. These attempts have also presented problems with panel alignment and wall rigidity.